


Third Time's the Charm

by Dionte



Series: Chosen Week 2018 [7]
Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Animal Shelter, Cats, Chosen Week, Dogs, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 19:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13371663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dionte/pseuds/Dionte
Summary: They met randomly at a park, and Zelos thought they would never meet again.They met at an animal shelter, and unless Seles felt like adopting more animals, he figured, yeah, still not going to meet her again.Well, you know what they say about the third time.For Chosen Week 2018, Day Seven: Festival of the Chosens (Free Day).





	Third Time's the Charm

“Watch out!”

 

A heavy weight tumbled into Zelos’s chest and then he was splayed on the cold ground of the park.

 

How had he got here again?

 

The night before he had hooked up with some woman at the bar. When he woke up, he was tangled in the sheets with the woman with a raging headache. He got up for a quick shower, and she rushed him out of the house as soon as she woke. Well, he expected it to be a one night stand anyway.

 

When he was in the cool morning air that he realized his mistake.

 

Seles.

 

His younger half-sister was living with him now, and though she could easily take care of herself, she hated it when he stayed out for the night. He took a quick look at his cell phone, cursing when he saw several missed calls and unanswered texts from her. He swore she had a sixth sense for when he was out for pleasure.

 

Seles was going to be pissed when he got home, so he decided to put going home off a little bit longer. Go for a walk, maybe buy some breakfast to appease his little sister.

 

So here he was. On the ground in the park. With a large dog licking his face.

 

“O-oh! Oh no! I’m so sorry.”

 

Well, at least the owner of his assailant sounded adorable. “Nope. It’s fine.” He sniffed, glad to find the dog’s breath wasn't bad, in fact, it actually smelled like… “Is that peanut butter?”

 

“Y-yes! Caramel doesn’t take his medication any other way.” She then whistled, and the dog returned to her.

 

Zelos sat up, looking at the dog who was sitting at the girl’s feet, then looking to the girl. She was younger than him, with golden hair and large blue eyes. Adorable, just like he suspected. “Medication? Guess he’s got it rough, huh.”

 

The girl smiled, and Zelos realized he hadn’t seen someone smile genuinely for years.

 

“I suppose, but it doesn’t seem to bother him too much. As, you, u-um… Just experienced. I’m so sorry about that, sir.”

 

Zelos got up, wiping the dirt from his pants and giving the girl a quick pout. “Ugh gross. Definitely not a sir. You can call me Zelos. And you are?”

 

“I’m Colette. Pleased to meet you, Zelos!”

 

Zelos was about to reply, make some light conversation when a piano sound began to play, and Colette started patting her jacket and pockets. She pulled out her own phone and looked at it for a moment before giving a small bow. “I’m so sorry, I have to take this call.”

 

“No, no, it’s fine. I should get going anyway.”

 

“Oh, of course. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

 

“Nah, it’s fine.” He began to back away as she took the call, watching as she got flustered and asked questions. He couldn’t hear anything specific, but before he left the park he glanced back. Apparently he caught her eye because she smiled, large and happy, and waved him goodbye.

 

He was utterly charmed, and maybe a little disappointed. It wasn't like they were going to meet again.

 

He walked back to his home in a bit of a daze, completely forgetting to get breakfast to appease Seles. His sister was- as he expected- extremely angry with him and during lunch she finally broke.

 

“Would you _please_ pay attention, br- Zelos?!”

 

Zelos blinked at her before plastering on a grin. “Sorry about that, Seles.”

 

Seles frowned, then sighed. “What is going on with you today?”

 

A flash of blonde hair came to his mind, and if he thought about it, her eyes were that sort of blue you didn’t see in nature that much, except perhaps, in flowers. As he tried to think of flowers that were such a pure shade of blue, he realized Seles had been sitting there, quietly, with clear annoyance on her features.

 

“Guess I’m a bit distracted.”

 

Seles huffed. “Obviously.”

 

“Can’t get her off my mind…” Zelos murmured to himself. He thought he said it softly enough, but Seles had sharper ears than he gave her credit for.

 

“What?!” She actually sounded a bit panicked. “Bro- Zelos! You can’t be serious about a one night stand!”

 

Okay, well, that memory wasn’t as pleasing, but his quick scowl threw Seles for even more of a loop.

 

“Wait, didn’t you...? Then who?”

 

“It’s nothing. Just… randomly met someone, and I can’t get it out of my head. It’s not like we’ll meet again.”

 

Seles gave him this look, like she expected him to say more, but she refrained from pushing any further.

 

* * *

 

“C’mon, big bro! We don’t have to adopt or anything today, just look.”

 

Zelos heaved a sigh. Recently, Seles got it into her head that she wanted a pet and had been begging him to go to the humane society with her. She made some good points about adopting one too. Well, it was mainly guilt tripping him with how he wasn’t home much during the day to spend time with her, but that with playing the big bro card was wearing him down.

 

“Fine. Jeez. We’re just looking though, got it?”

 

Seles immediately gave a victorious smirk, moving about their condo with excitement.

 

If it made her that happy, he really couldn’t be all that bothered about doing this on his day off.

 

He let her drag him out to his car, punch in the address of the animal shelter, and leisurely drove her over. He was planning to wait out in the car, but she gave him a glare that very clearly told him he was coming in as well. It wasn’t worth arguing over, Seles would win anyway.

 

A jangling bell rang when the door opened, and Zelos looked to the shelter's impromptu alarm while Seles walked towards the front desk.

 

“Hello, and welcome to the Sylvarant Humane So- oh!”

 

Wait. He recognized that voice. Zelos looked forward to see the girl from the park. Colette?

 

“Zelos! So good to see you again!”

 

He saw Seles stiffen, and before she could get angry with the poor girl for “seducing” him, he walked forward and leaned on the counter.

 

“Yes, yes, hello, my little angel! My sister here was wondering about looking at the fellows you’ve got.”

 

Colette broke into a blush at his words, and whispered “a-angel…?” She then shook her head, and turned her attention to Seles, directing that bright grin to her. “Well, what sort of pet are you looking for, Seles?”

 

Seles’s demeanor was rather cold, but Zelos had seen it a lot worse around those she thought were his nightly company. “I was rather hoping to look at the cats.”

 

“Of course.” Colette crossed to the other side of the front desk, attention more on Seles than him. “We have some different rooms with our available cats, and any information about them will be gathered outside of the room. I’d also like to mention that we are currently having the twelve days of Catmas, meaning that there won’t be an adoption fee for our all our cats.”

 

Seles was slowly brightening, and she glanced to Zelos at the mention of “Catmas.” She turned back to Colette quickly. “Are there any cats that you would suggest?”

 

Colette’s eyes widened, then she sunk into thought. “Hmm, well, it depends a bit on the type of cat you want to get. Kittens may be adorable, but they are better in pairs, so they’ll have a good playmate to get rid of all that energy. Some of our older cats are really sweet though- I’ve been hearing a lot about Rita from her foster mother, and she’s about four years old, so she's still young.”

 

“I guess you’re a bit more of a dog person, huh?” Zelos interjected, and Colette laughed in response.

 

“Yes, I suppose so. I love cats too, but I foster a lot of the dogs who come through here.”

 

“So… Caramel?”

 

Colette looked a little sad at this, but she switched back to her grin quickly. “Yes. Caramel was adopted by a loving family soon after we met.”

 

Seles must have decided this was her opportunity and gestured between the two. “How did you two meet exactly?”

 

“O-oh. Well, you see, Caramel gets a bit excited sometimes, and he kind of…” Colette glanced to Zelos, before looking away, face on fire. “Tackled him.”

 

There was a moment of silence, before Zelos saw Seles’s shoulders quivering. “S-Seles?”

 

His sister burst into laughter. It took him a moment to realize that it was directed at _him_. “Oh my gosh. You idiot!”

 

Zelos gaped at her, and she leaned against the wall. “Hey, you have no right to call me an-”

 

“I can totally see it, oh shoot. Heh. Let me guess, he was laid out on the ground, bit of an annoyed look on his face until he realized that you owned the dog, right?”

 

Seles had nailed him, but he would never admit it.

 

“U-um. I really didn’t see his face before he got up, but maybe? I’m so sorry about that, again.” Colette seemed to be bothered by what happened still, and Zelos was about to reassure her when Seles straightened.

 

“Don’t worry about it. Zelos gets himself into trouble like that plenty. In fact, I’d say that he’s gotten into way worse. He’s not the type to hold a grudge over something so small, right brother?”

 

Zelos blinked. Was Seles actually making the effort to be kind to someone? “Uh, yeah, she’s right. I said it then, and I’ll say it again, it’s fine. After all, it gave me the opportunity to meet you, little angel.”

 

Seles rolled her eyes while Colette blushed, and Zelos couldn’t help but think that pink looked good on the blonde. Colette rushed them to the cats, pointing out Rita and hurrying back to the front desk. Zelos watched her go while Seles entered the room to the mewing of all the cats in the area. He looked into the other rooms, even wandered through the areas where the dogs were kept. Some whined and barked, others were simply napping in their kennels. He wondered more about the girl, Colette, but when he looked over to the front desk, it was obvious that she was working on some documents. He didn’t want to bother her while she was working.

 

He returned to the area Seles was and gave a hopeless sigh when he looked through the glass windows. She was cuddling with the Rita cat, and if that expression was anything to go by…

 

He entered the room, and she looked up, glowing when she saw it was him. Rita also looked up, though she returned her attention to Seles, purring contentedly.

 

“... Big Bro!”

 

He couldn’t crush the hope in that voice. Dammit.

 

“Fine. But you’re in charge of her. Feeding, litter, whatever. I’m just playin’ Mr. Moneybags, okay?”

 

“Zelos! Thank you!”

 

Seles carried the cat as they headed back to the front desk. Zelos wasn’t sure it was allowed, but Colette hadn’t said anything against it, so… He figured they could ask forgiveness, if that was necessary.

 

“Was Colette the one distracting you that day?”

 

Zelos felt all his thoughts scatter. “Huh?”

 

“About a month back. You came back after a night out without anything to try to make it up for me, and you were distracted for the rest of the day. Said it was because of a girl.”

 

Zelos thought back. Well, the answer was pretty obvious anyway. “... Yeah. That was her.”

 

“Hmmm…” He was touched. It was the most approving he had ever heard Seles be of any woman he’d met.

 

All the same, he couldn’t do anything about it. Colette, from what he’d seen of her, she was… Pure. Not the type to just sleep around. It would take time, effort. She was someone who should be treasured and loved, from what little he had seen of her. He wasn’t sure if he could deal with a relationship like that.

 

He wasn't sure _he_ was worth the same thing.

 

“Miss Colette…?” Seles called as they entered the lobby. Colette looked up from whatever she had been working on and she smiled upon seeing the cat in Seles’s arms.

 

“Will you be making an adoption then?”

 

“Yes. She’s so sweet.”

 

Seles was obviously in love, at least.

 

“Alright, I have a few forms for you to fill out, just real quick. If you want to browse the shop, you can do that. Have you ever taken care of a cat before?” Seles shook her head in response, and Zelos backed off, finding a chair to sit in while Colette helped his sister with whatever questions she had.

 

He wasn’t planning to get a cat. Then his mind jumped in to say that _technically_ , he wasn’t getting a cat, but that was a minor detail.

 

What was he doing?

 

Finally, Seles gestured to him, and he walked to the counter, pulling out his wallet to pay for it. Apparently Colette had gotten them a sort of starter pack, and it should have everything they would need to start this cat owner adventure.

 

In the end, he was glad they got the cat, because Seles was more preoccupied cooing at her than she was with teasing him about Colette.

 

* * *

  

_Zelos, please._

 

It was the last text Seles had sent that was a long string of her wanting sweets from this specific patisserie that her friends had told her about and Zelos steadfastly refusing. Unfortunately, Seles held a trump card, and it was knowing that Zelos was a dumb doting older brother who had a soft spot for his little sister saying please.

 

Dammit.

 

She must have known she had won, because the next text she sent was the address of Sage’s Patisserie.

 

So when he clocked out of work early Friday afternoon, he drove towards some patisserie near a college campus. When he arrived, he had to wonder how Seles's friends had heard about this place. It was a small, local location. Most likely dependent on a customer base of students.

 

A deep bell sound clanged over the shop and a sweet voice rang out in welcome. Zelos couldn’t help but think of entering the animal shelter a while back.

 

“Little angel.”

 

“Zelos! Good to see you again. How’s your sister and Rita?”

 

He walked forward at a brisk pace, glancing to the pastries to the side but focusing on Colette. “Doing well, Colette. Seles and Rita get along amazingly well, and I guess Rita likes me too. I’ll admit, Rita’s a real peach. She’s been growing on me.”

 

Colette was beaming, obviously overjoyed to hear the news. “I’m so happy! It’s always great to hear when one of ours found a good home.”

 

“Did Caramel get a happy ending?”

 

Colette appeared sad once again. “No. Apparently the ones who adopted him didn’t understand the needs of his illness. Or it was more work than they expected. He was returned a few days ago.”

 

“So have you been taking care of him?”

 

“Ah, yes! I’m fostering him again, but…”

 

“But what?”

 

“I’m wondering about adopting him myself.”

 

Zelos watched her for a moment, as she was likely going over all the arguments in her head for and against this decision.

 

“Okay, so why not adopt him?”

 

“Well, I feel so busy, with classes and then this job most afternoons, volunteering at the shelter, and fostering other dogs... I wonder if I could give him all the love he deserves.”

 

Zelos chuckled, and Colette’s blue eyes snapped to him. “Little angel, lemme tell you something. It’s not about the love we deserve. It’s all about the love we’re given." Did he believe that? He wasn't sure. "You give him all the love you can and I promise it’ll be enough for him. Hell, I saw you with him once, and I can tell that you’d be good for that dog.”

 

Maybe he shouldn’t have said that because that fond smile on her face was doing something to his insides.

 

“Thanks Zelos.”

 

He was flustered, for once in his life, and turned his attention back to a display case of sweets nearby. “S-so! My sister was wanting something to eat from here. Got any ideas?”

 

Colette tilted her head to the side, which was adora- Nope. No. Not going there- as she considered the question. “Oh, maybe… I mentioned working here to Seles the other day, and she sounded extremely interested our Mille-Feuille, but we don’t have any of those available today.”

 

“Hmmm… Y’know what, I’ll call her right quick. Could you wrap up one of those profiteroles for me though?”

 

“Sure!”

 

Colette went about her business on the other side of the counter as Zelos pulled out his phone to call Seles. She answered promptly, to his relief.

 

“Seles, you didn’t say that my little angel worked here! You said a friend rec’d it to you!”

 

“Did I? Well, that friend just happened to be... heh... ‘your’ little angel.”

 

Did he say that? Did he just call Colette… He was so screwed.

 

“Well, they don’t have a… Milly... Fo… Whatever it was. Not in stock today. I’m getting a profiterole, for myself, and they’ve got some danishes, cakes, eclairs… Any of that strike your fancy?”

 

“Frosting for the eclairs?”

 

“Chocolate, caramel… Some other ones I don’t recognize.”

 

“Chocolate. If it has the same filling, all the better.”

 

“Gotcha.”

 

“And you know, big bro?”

 

Zelos got an ominous feeling. “... Yeah?”

 

“I really would like a Mille-Feuille sometime, would you mind dropping by there on occasion to see if they have one?”

 

“Well, I guess I could, but-”

 

“Colette tends to work afternoons.”

 

Zelos sputtered, and he was sure Seles was smirking on the other end of the line, probably stroking her cat like some sort of… Dubious overlord.

 

“Seles-”

 

“Zelos.” Seles’s voice turned serious, and Zelos felt himself straighten. “Why don’t you just try being serious about a relationship for once? … For me?”

 

“Seles?”

 

“I just want you to be happy, big bro. I think… Maybe, she could make you happy. So don’t just give up, or run away, okay?”

 

Zelos wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He’d thought Seles didn’t like him for the longest time, so even though he knew better now it was strange to hear it so clearly.

 

“... I… I guess I could try.”

 

He heard Seles huff on the other side before saying, “good. Now get me those eclairs.”

 

“As you wish.” Zelos hung up and walked back to the register, where Colette had his profiterole ready.

 

“Did she tell you what she’d like?”

 

Zelos nodded. “Sure, two eclairs, chocolate on the outside and preferably the inside, if you have them.”

 

“We do! I’ll wrap them up for you now, okay?”

 

As she went back over to the treats to do that, Zelos nabbed the pen they kept for signing receipts and a business card from his pocket. By the time Colette came back, he had returned the pen, and his altered card was ready. Colette entered the prices into the system, and after he had paid for the treats, Zelos held out his card.

 

Colette looked at him curiously.

 

“My number.”

 

Red filled her face, and she shook her head. “O-oh, no, I couldn’t…”

 

“Hey, no obligations. I’m just giving you my number, you don’t have to call it or anything. You can burn the card if it freaks you out that much. But if you want to say hi, chat, or anything with me, you’ll have it.”

 

Colette continued looking at the card, and Zelos was almost sure she was going to shut him down. Finally though, she hesitantly reached forward and plucked the card from his hand.

 

“Alright.”

 

Zelos grinned, letting the paper bag of desserts rest in in his arms as he left the shop.

 

Later that night, he got a new message on his phone.

 

_Hey, this is Colette~! Let’s get along well~!_

 

He felt a soft smile coming onto his face as Rita purred while rubbing against his legs. He thought about what he had said earlier to Colette, and what Seles had told him over the phone. It wasn't what he was used to, but if it was already making him this happy he would give it a shot. He'd give it everything he had. He'd never tell her, but he knew already that he owed Seles big time.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll admit, it took me a while to decide what to do for the free day. I went over a lot of different ideas, but then I was thinking about this coffeeshop AU I had been writing for a different pairing. The Zelos/Colette in it was going to be in the background, but with a meet-cute prompt in my head, this started forming, so I went for it. I don't know when I'll get around to posting the other one I was working on, but I hope you've enjoyed this as well as everything else for Chosen Week.


End file.
